New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung - The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits » nyc

Augury

chris — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:18:25 +0000

Augury performs at Gramercy Theater, NYC. November 7, 2009. (photo by Chris Owyoung)

If you’ve never heard Augury‘s precision shredding, furious double drumming or ridiculous bass lines, the rapt concentration depicted in many of these photos won’t do the Canadian prog metal monsters the justice they deserve. If you’re familiar with how intensely technical guitar and drum work applies to the genre, you can probably tell that Augury completely destroyed.

It’s refreshing to see a band that clearly cares more about nailing the riffs than it does about the amount of hair it can swing (although as you can see, Augury bassist Dominic Forest, succeeds at both).

Photographer’s Notes

As I did for Warbringer, I shot primarily with the 14-24mm and 24-70mm zoom lenses with a single SB-900 speedlight on-camera. Exposure was set at 1/60 – 1/30 at ISO 2000 shooting at an f-stop of either f/3.5 or f/4.5. The flash was set mostly to TTL minus 1 EV in matrix metering mode.

Evanescence

chris — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:03:01 +0000

Amy Lee of Evanescence performs at a secret show at Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom. November 4, 2009. (photo by Chris Owyoung)

Before playing to a crowd of 40,000 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Evanescence performed an intimate “secret show” to just over 1,000 diehard fans from the New York area. Tickets reported sold out in 5 minutes. Though the band performed beautifully throughout, Amy Lee’s stripped down piano solo Good Enough (from Open Door, 2006) stole the show. Evanescence is currently writing material for release in 2010.

PHOTOGRAPHER’s NOTES

Whenever my enjoyment of a band’s music predates my job as a concert photographer, I put more pressure on myself to do my best work. While I compete with myself every time I enter the pit, the mental stakes are always higher when I’m a fan of the band. I would also like to think that the more I like the music, the more potential there is for killer photos.

Since Amy Lee is both the frontwoman and the only founding member in the current Evanescence lineup, I naturally focused on her for the lion’s share of the first three songs. As I do with every band I shoot, I did my video and still research and knew that Lee would have me running from one side of the pit to the other hunting for the sweet spot angles around her often double-handed microphone grip. If this sounds like a lot of work, it was.

Since I don’t like the distortion on the 14-24mm for female leads, I shot mainly with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR. The standard zoom was wide enough for full-length shots while the telephoto gave me the reach I needed to shoot downstage.

The lighting, while not ample, was often good enough to produce a decent exposure at ISO 2000 and 1/300 and f/3.5.

If you have any questions or if you just like the photos, leave a comment.

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Good Enough

The Gaslight Anthem

chris — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:17:46 +0000

The Gaslight Anthem performs at Terminal 5, NYC. October 15, 2009.

When frontman Brian Fallon told the crowd that the band had “slept in a lot of dirty places to get to the show” last night, the crowd erupted in applause. Though the guys hadn’t necessarily had access to a working shower recently, the fans didn’t seem to mind; New Yorkers trekked to the far west side in the worst weather this fall to see their hometown heroes tear it up at Terminal 5. New York City loves The Gaslight Anthem and Gaslight loves it right back.

Move photos and shooting notes after the break.

Photographer’s Notes

Having just dragged 35 pounds of camera gear across town in the rain, I was pleasantly surprised to see a bright and beautiful The Gaslight Anthem backdrop adorning the stage. I knew this probably meant that the band would have enough lighting for the signage at the very least. As luck and the lighting designer would have it, virtually the entire band was covered in nearly white light for most of the allotted three songs.

Gaslight played a hugely energetic set that had the fans going nuts and every photographer in the pit begging for more time.

I shot mostly at ISO 2000 on the Nikon D3 with a shutter speed of 1/160 at f/2.8 – little to no exposure compensation was necessary after the fact.

Lens Use:
Nikon 24-70mm – 70%
Nikon 70-200mm – 25%
Nikon 14-24mm – 5%

Shout Outs

A huge thanks goes out to Jon for hooking up the last minute credentials.

Metric

chris — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:49:42 +0000

June 17, 2009 – One of the best bands to form in this city and then leave, Metric performed to an absolutely packed Terminal 5. Fronted by the dynamic Emily Haines, the band performed material from their newly released album Fantasies as well as some of their more popular songs. Metric are at their best on this current tour!

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTES

I’ve been listening to Metric for years and they’re one of my favorite bands to listen to as well as to photograph. I had the privilege of meeting the band last year at All Points West can say that not only do they craft great songs, they are incredibly nice people. It’s not very rock’n'roll to be nice, but hey everything’s nice in Canada. =)

The first three songs were lit by a strong blue wash with warm underlights. As the band found their groove, the lighting was punctuated by white hotlights from behind. Though all of the band members rocked out continuously, the best lighting during the first three fell on Emily who alternated between her keyboard and a freehand mic. The overall quality of light was pretty poor, I was able to shoot at ISO 2000 with both the 50mm f/1.8 and 24-70mm zoom lenses on the Nikon D3.

The Sounds

chris — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:44:29 +0000

April 30, 2009 – The Sounds played a “secret show” to celebrate the release of their new album Crossing the Rubicon. Santos Party House was packed to the gills. Rumor has it that even Semi Precious Weapons frontman Justin Tranter attended the invite-only event.

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTES

With very little light and energetic subjects like The Sounds, flash was an unfortunate necessity for this show. I shot at ISO 800 while dragging the shutter down to 1/30 of a second. A single on-camera SB-900 speedlight was used for all of these photos.

Joanna Levine

chris — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:20:05 +0000

June 10, 2009 – Brooklyn singer/songwriter Joanna Levine commissioned me to shoot a series of portraits for her new promotional materials. Her shoot is a perfect example of the variety I try to achieve in my band photography sessions.

Despite shooting between 150 to 300 shots in a normal session, I try to keep things as simple as possible. In Joanna’s case, this meant working with mostly available light and a few changes of clothing. Likewise, all of the images in this set were taken within a couple blocks of her Brooklyn apartment.

I’m a firm believer that every portrait should have a concept that guides the look, composition and equipment used. Having a concept, which could be as simple as needing a variety of shots to use on Facebook and a promotional postcard, ensures that photographer and client are working towards the same goal. In the midst of a multi-hour shoot when either party can loose focus, taking a break to refer to the concept can be critical.

As I do with all of my clients, I met with Joanna in advance of the shoot to hammer out the exact look we were going for.

The concept? One that is a bit Folk, a bit Rock and a bit Fashion all at the same time.

Here are some of the highlights:

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTES

Joanna’s shoot started around 10am and went into the afternoon following a short lunch break. Conditions were cool and bright (a stark contrast to the lightless sweaty confines of the photo pit a.k.a. my normal working environment).

Though I enjoy working outdoors, we shot a lot on either side of noon, which necessitated finding creative ways to improve upon the harsh sunlight.

This meant everything from shooting on the shaded sides of buildings to using wardrobe (hats) to provided the needed diffusion. When little or no shade was available, I made sure to have Joanna’s back to the sun while using a reflector (on the ground or held by an assistant) to fill the shadows.

I shot entirely with D3 and a mixture of both prime and zoom Nikkor lenses. To my surprise, a majority of the best photos came from the most humble of lenses.

Yup, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8. Despite being made of plastic and retailing for only $100, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 provided two of the essential qualities for the shoot, a comfortable working distance with the subject and very shallow depth of field. To my astonishment, the 50mm provided plenty of resolution on the Nikon D3 even when shot wide open.

Several of the tighter headshots were taken with the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR. Even though the working distance is further away than I like (about 6 feet), the telephoto end of the 70-200 is perfect for lots of subject isolation and the creamy background bokeh.

Nearly every shot in this post had different exposure settings and post processing.

As always, if there’s anything I haven’t mentioned just ask!

END NOTES

A ginormous thanks to Joanna for still looking good even though it was cold out. The great shots would not be possible without the help of Sabrina: Photo Assistant and Stylist to the stars.

Semi Precious Weapons

chris — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:09:05 +0000

March 27, 2009 – Watching Justin Tranter on stage is like witnessing the miracle of birth (only it’s about 1000 x better since babies don’t burst onto the scene in diamonds, couture or four-inch spike heels). Ladies and gentlemen, glam boys and hard rock girls, I give you Justin Tranter, Cole Whittle, Dan Crean, and Stevy Pyne – Semi Precious Weapons.

Photographer’s Notes

Whether they’re playing the next stop on the fire marshal’s hazard list or beneath the gorgeous colors of the Blender Theater lighting rig, Semi Precious Weapons are a glam rock wet dream. As a photographer, they are one of the bands that keeps me up way past my bedtime and loving ever second behind the lens.

I first shot Semi Precious Weapons in 2007 after a friend dragged me to their set in a sweltering basement hole in the East Village. What ensued can only be described as a rum-fueled orgy of spin kicks, indecent exposure and some of the best rock’n'roll I’ve ever seen. (Little did I know that the Village Voice had just proclaimed them New York’s best rock band.) They lived up to the hype then and they’ve only gotten better in 2009.

I shot this set from the front row, just house right of center – a position that gave me decent lines of sight for all four of the band members. With my brother Todd dead center stage, I knew we’d have the entire thing locked down. If you don’t check out Todd’s stellar set of pix, there’s something horribly wrong with you.

End Notes:
Huge ups to Justin, Cole, Dan, and Stevy for being amazing and patient subjects. Equal props go out to Shaun for taking god care of us and coordinating everything.

Stayed tuned for the promo shots Todd and I did before the show. If you liked what we threw together for The Energy, you’ll love what we pulled out for SPW.

Lastly, I think you all should know that Justin Tranter shoots Nikon.

Preview: No Doubt – Bamboozle, Day 2

Chris Owyoung — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:36:19 +0000

May 3, 2009 – If all of the preview posts in my stream aren’t a dead giveaway, I’m currently sitting on a mountain of images that desperately need to see the light of day. Here’s one from No Doubt’s phenomenal headlining set at the end of The Bamboozle Music Festival, 2009.

The Birthday Massacre

chris — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:50:54 +0000

April 27, 2009 – The band needed no long winded introduction and no warm up – moving straight into pounding synth lines and blistering guitar riffs just seconds after taking the stage, The Birthday Massacre began how most bands finish (and went to eleven from there). The show included bow displacing power noogies, hysterical screaming, spitting, crowd surfing, kisses and fans openly weeping and I’m only talking about the first three songs. Be sure to check out the full set of thumbnails below – there were just too many cool shots to post!

Photographer’s Notes

Shooting The Birthday Massacre without a photo pit is the messiest gig I’ve shot recently – it was also one of the most enjoyable. Unlike most bands where the lead singer is the clear focal point, nearly every member of The Birthday Massacre is a moving target worth following for an entire show. Even though I’ve been a fan for a while, this was my first concert. I had some idea of what was in store for me but the actual experience was quite a shock – (I never thought I’d say it, but sometimes 14mm just isn’t enough).

I was situated house right of center in the front row. This put my in great position for shots of Chibi, O.E. and Rainbow. Due to the abnormally wide stage at Highline Ballroom, I was only able to catch the other members of the band when they wandered front and center. I’ll definitely have to switch sides of the stage to get better angles on Falcore, Rimm and O-En next show.

I shot almost exclusively on the wide end of the Nikon 14-24mm. Most of the photos in this set include fill flash from a single SB-900 speedlight mounted on-camera. My ISO stayed around 2000 while my shutter speed and aperture varied wildly depending on the ambient lighting.

End Notes

A huge thanks to the entire band for putting on such a rocking set. An equally massive thanks to Shannon for coordinating my credentials! Additional thanks to Vinny and Robert for the hookup at doors.

Preview: Road Recovery Benefit Concert, 2009

Chris Owyoung — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:06:20 +0000

May 1, 2009 – Rock stars came out in droves for the annual Road Recovery Benefit Concert at Nokia Theater in Times Square. This year, the nationally recognized music mentoring organization honored the legendary Wayne Kramer of MC5. The star studded line-up included Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), Iggy Pop, Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Gilby Clarke (Gun N’ Roses), and many more. Stay tuned for the full set of images!